Finger guard



Jan. 25, 1949. TALARI O 2,460,155

FINGER GUARD Filed March 26, 1945 HT'TOR/VEY Patented Jan. 25, :1949

.i3NITE 'D iZSTATES PATENr oFFICE 'j if FINGER GUARD l Joseph Talarico,- Spokane; Wash.

Application March 26, 1945, Serial No. 584,829 1 Claim. (Cl. #21) 1 This invention relates to a finger guard and more particularly to a finger guard which is intended for use by persons engaged in skinning carcasses of beef and other animals having hair which is stiff and has a tendency to wear the nails and make the ends of the fingers sore.

Therefore, one object of the invention-is to provide finger guards which may be applied to the fingers and allow a workman to grasp a hide with his fingers engaging the hairy side and pull the hide away from the carcass while skinning the animal, without the hair, and dirt and grit in the hair, causing the finger nails to be worn away to the quick and making the fingers very sore.

Another object is to provide a finger guard which is so formed that it will fit snugly about a finger and not only protect the nail and tip of the finger, but also cover the back of the finger from its end to a point beyond the first joint and thus protect the portions of the finger which make contact with the hide during a skinning operation.

Another object of the invention is to so form the guard that the portion thereof extending along the back of the finger beyond the first joint will allow movement of the finger at the joint without digging into the finger and interfering with natural movements thereof.

A further object is to provide the finger guard with a forwardly extending tongue which is of such length that it projects beyond the finger and is curved inwardly to provide a bill or hook which is spaced forwardly from the finger in overlapping relation thereto and provides means for firmly gripping the hide without injuring the finger.

Still another object is to provide a guard which is of simple construction, cheap to make, and easily applied and removed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved guard.

Fig. 2 is a View looking at the outer surface of the improved guard.

Fig. 3 is a side view showing the guard applied to a finger.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the finger tilted.

Fig. 5 is a view looking at the front end of the guard.

- 2 This improved guard is intended for use by persons engaged in the skinning of beef and other animals having hair which is stiff or filled with dirt and grit which causes the nails to be worn to the quick and causes the fingers to become very sore. This guard may be formed of metal or other suitable material and has an annular body or band I of such diameter that it will fit snugly about a finger upon which it is to be worn. Four of the guards constitute a set, since a guard is to be Worn on each finger of the hand grasping the hide and they will be of different sizes to fit snugly about the fingers to which they are applied and it will be understood that the sets will be of proper size to fit hands of different sizes.

The band or body I has its outer portion extended, thus providing the body with a rearwardly extending portion 2 and a forwardly extening portion or tongue 3. The rear extension 2 is of suflicient width to cover the outer portion of the finger 4 to which the guard is applied and of such length that it projects rearwardly beyond the first joint of the finger, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The free rear end portion of the rear extension is curved outwardly to form a lip 5 which curves away from the finger when the finger is held straight, but when the finger is bent somewhat, as shown in Fig. 4;, the lip has fiat contacting engagement with the finger back of the joint and will not dig into the finger and prevent normal movements of the finger when grasping a hide and pulling it away from the carcass of the animal while cutting the hide from the carcass with a knife held in the other hand. The tongue 3 extends forwardly in covering relation to the finger nail and is bent or curved inwardly to form a bill 5 overlapping the front end of the finger and spaced therefrom so that this hook-shaped tongue may have clutching engagement with the hairy side of 2. hide and firmly grip it without the finger itself making contact with the hide. Since the front end of the bill is formed with an arcuate edge, shown in Figs. 1 and 5, this bill may firmly grip the hide without cutting therethrough and forming holes or tears therein. When the skinning operation has been completed, the guards may be easily removed an a length adapting it to overlie the first joint of a 5 finger and having its rear end portion bent to form an outwardly curved lip, and a tongue formed integral with the said outer portion of the body and extending forwardly therefrom and being tapered forwardly and having a blunt front end formed with an arcuate front edge merging into side edges of the tongue, said tongue being of a length adapting it to project forwardly beyond a fingerab'out which the body fits and having its forwar'd'portion curved downwardly and forming a blunt bill disposed in position for extending across the front end of the finger in forwardly spaced relation thereto and shielding the front end of the finger and the nail thereof."

JOSEPH TALARICG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 14,864 Gould May 13, 1856 203,978 Woods May 21, 1878 10 310,108 Winzenried Dec. 30, 1884 2,250,766 Jorgenson July 29, 1941 2,409,101 Brlttingham Oct. 8, 1946 t FOREIGN PATENTS 5 Num'l'jer Gountiy Date 182,830 Switzerland July 1, 1936 

